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A fairly easy ride today, just about 35 miles and 1,800' of elevation gain. The Jesmond Dene Jaunt is a nice little spin with a dash of fun on the descent through the oaks. And it was also nice to make a visit to EscoGelato, where we've not stopped for awhile. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did, but if not you may need to hone your Cafe Stop Skills.
Too bad we experienced a broken chain and then a flat right after our stop, but we got it all fixed and everyone was able to pedal home! This week's ridership: 15 Cyclists (5W / 10M) Welcome Aboard to Renee! Next week jokers are wild... Wildcard Ride Date: Tuesday February 4, 2014 Time: 9:00am Group choice for route... Usually easy??. Cheers, Steve
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Mike and Jerry having fun on their mountain bikes, and getting in a bit of rock-hounding. Their report...
We rode Pamo Rd to Lusardi Truck Trail and hit the turnoff on a rocky track that led to what turns out to be a calcite mine. It was hike-a-bike for over a mile. Jerry registered the gradient as +25 percent! Steep! We finally made it to the top, found that all the mining action had taken place below us so off we went. Just around a blind corner we found this excavator and the hillside where the calcite was mined. Yes Steve, lots of pretty rocks. All in all it was a 3,000’ climbing day on MTBs. Beautiful out there, quiet, sunshine, peaceful. We skipped an 8 mile segment that connects Pamo Valley with Black Canyon. Just too tired. Still got 28 miles in. A shorter ride today but one with plenty of quiet roads to spin along. The Rancho Santa Fe Ramble is a bit free-form and this outing included the Lago Lindo section, maybe next time we can ride Los Arboles and El Secreto. Unfortunately, we can't do them all at once and still get back at a reasonable time. But we did get to do the Zumaque climb, which has enough steepness to get your attention!
Our stop was at Caffe Positano in Rancho Santa Fe. It's the perfect place to fuel up for the ride back. Hey, there was still that Three Witches climb left to do - Gotta have some energy for it! This week's ridership: 13 Cyclists (4W / 9M) Next week we close the books on January with the... Jesmond Dene Jaunt Date: Tuesday January 28, 2014 Time: 9:00am An easy route through Escondido and out to Jesmond Dene. Cheers, Steve A mostly new route for the group today: Escondido Hills, and as the name implies there was climbing involved. That prospect didn't hold down the turnout though - we had seventeen riders on the road enjoying the both the "elevation gain" and the great weather. Who'd have guessed we'd have 80 degree temps in January? Fortunately the predicted winds held off while we rode!
The ride featured some steep climbs: Beethoven (13%), La Honda (20%), and Sheridan (13%), as well as numerous rollers, some of which were nearly as steep! A bit of the climbing got skipped due to my incomplete memory of the route, but we managed to do about 95% of it. The refueling stop was at Peterson's Donut Corner - we haven't been there for awhile, but the quality and popularity of their donuts hasn't changed! Video links, courtesy of Jerry: La Honda Climb La Honda Descent This week's ridership: 17 Cyclists (4W / 13M) (...and Welcome to new rider: Bud.) Next week we ride west... Rancho Santa Fe Ramble Date: Tuesday January 21, 2014 Time: 9:00am Explore Rancho Santa Fe's by-ways. Trees, hills, and mostly low-traffic. Cheers, Steve Today's report and pix are courtesy of Jerry. Thanks for leading the crew JG!
Dan from Oregon joined us today and many more Tuesdays as he has finally moved to San Diego. Matt rode with us but peeled off at Ted Williams and Pomerado. Pam had a bike flat at her house so she met us at 56 just one exit after Cam Del Sur. Mike suggested a rest stop and after a spirited spin on San Dieguito we took a much needed recovery and replenishment at Cafe Positano. We waited for Ed at the top of the 3 witches climb but he might have gone back for some more cookies. Hubert peeled off for Pomerado while the remaining four Liz, Dan, Mike and I returned to Valle Verde via Lomica. It was a bit chilly in the morning but it warmed up as we got closer to the coast. Eduardo had one flat but overall it was a very nice day to ride your bike with friends. This week's ridership: 9 Cyclists (2W / 7M) Next week we ride UP... Escondido Hills Date: Tuesday January 14, 2014 Time: 9:00am Climb some of Escondido's hidden hills; featuring La Honda Drive up to Dixon Lake. Cheers, Steve |
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